Assassin's Bane
by Guardian of the Moon
Summary: AU Starfire is a young queen who feels confined by her duties and life. Robin is the assassin sent to kill her by a rival king (guess who!). However things don't quite go according to plan when Robin falls prey to the thing known as assassin's bane...
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
Disclaimer: No monkeys, bananas, or weasels were harmed in the making of this fic. However, the characters were brutally mutilated and somewhat abused. Also, as this is a fanfiction, I do not own the wonderful thing called Teen Titans. Also, I would not be writing fanfiction if I owned TT, I would be writing real fiction.  
  
*looks above* Holy shitake mushrooms!! That is one heck of a disclaimer!  
  
These two chapters were put up to honor the fact that the second season of Teen Titans starts on Saturday. YAY!!  
  
This is my first TT fic so go easy on me.NOT!!! I want good solid reviews, not crap, okay? And I was saying 'not' to going easy because this actually is my fist TT fic-- *is repeatedly smacked* OWWWW!! OKAY OKAY!!! I'll get to the fic!!! Geez!!  
  
***  
  
Starfire sighed mentally. Outside she kept the regal mask on her face and an ear on what the current petitioner was saying. It was harder than it looked to sit in Court and not offend anyone by falling asleep or looking less than perfectly attentive. Starfire had enough practice at this, however, that she could hear what the person talking was saying and still allow her thoughts to wander. She could think of so many things she would rather be doing this moment. Like flying. Perhaps to one of the flowering meadows that were so plentiful in her kingdom.  
  
Asalen was a beautiful planet and Starfire loved to fly around, looking at all of the pretty scenery. Being Queen made it almost impossible to do that, but Starfire sneaked out occasionally and returned after a few hours of flying. Of course this annoyed her bodyguards to no end, but she liked to keep them on their toes. Although they could fly as well, they all knew that they wouldn't be able to find her if she didn't want to be found and that it was highly unlikely that they would even be able to get her to come with them if they did happen to find her. Also, they knew their Queen was overworked and loved her freedom and pretended not to be able to find her. But it still annoyed them because they couldn't "protect yer Majesty if ye're gallivantin' off."  
  
In fact, she thought, that's exactly what I'll do this afternoon. I don't have any meetings that are so important that they can't be rescheduled for later. Just that one. I think it's about trade rights for the Altarians. Oh, well, their Prime Minister can just wait; he needs his temper cooled anyway. Star smiled to herself. The freedom would be worth the scolding she would receive from her advisors. Well, they didn't call it scolding, they called it advice, but it was really scolding.  
  
A voice whispering in her ear brought the Queen out of her thoughts of escaping. "Your Majesty, the petitioner is ready for your reply." She saw that the final petitioner for the day, a fat annoyance who was fond of spending other people's money and wanted more "funding" (by that he meant more money for himself), was finished and that it was time for her to answer him.  
  
"No your Society can not have extra funding because they do not need it. I have seen how much money you already have and what you spend it on. You have enough money for your needs-" Starfire continued in this vein until she had thoroughly explained, for the millionth time, that she would not give this man more "funds."  
  
When the man had left, it signaled that it was time for morning Court to close. Starfire retired to her rooms, hearing the courtiers shuffling out behind her. Once she reached her room, Starfire shed the confining, formal gown she had worn earlier and replaced it with a much more comfortable outfit: what she wore whenever she went flying and did not have to "dress to impress," as one of her teachers had explained when she had complained about having to wear hot, heavy, and annoying gowns. Starfire left a note saying she would be back before evening Court, walked out onto her balcony and jumped, flying off toward freedom.  
  
***  
  
"I have a job for you, assassin. I want you to get rid of the Queen of Asalen, Starfire. She has been an annoyance to me for far too long. I want her dead. I don't care how you do it; just kill her."  
  
The ebony-haired young man listened attentively to the voice of his latest employer without looking at hid face as he was still kneeling on the floor. He could see the man's face, which in itself was unusual. Many of those who hired him didn't want their identities known, probably because if he was caught and tortured or Truth-spelled, he could end up giving them away. He hadn't been caught and was good enough to not ever be, but he wasn't so cocky as to believe that he invincible. Many would-be assassinations had been foiled by overconfidence.  
  
"When should I expect you back?"  
  
"I will have to gain the Queen's trust before I will be able to get close enough to kill her, so it will be a few months, seven at most. But I doubt it will take that long. From what I've heard, the Queen is too trusting for her own good."  
  
"Excellent. I will see you when you have finished your job. Dismissed."  
  
The assassin got to his feet and bowed. "I will see you in a few months, Your Majesty." Robin turned on his heel and left. King Slade sank back in his chair, laughing to himself. This was going just as he had planned. 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Starfire landed in a seldom-used meadow that lay a few leagues from the palace. It was close enough that if she was needed she could be at the palace in a few minutes. Starfire picked some flowers and sat down to braid them together. Things like this, although simple and perhaps childish, helped her calm down and relax. Court life wore nerves thin, even the nerves of those trained from childhood for it.  
  
When she had finished the braid of flowers she wove it into her hair. Then, she flew over to the small stream that cut across the edge of the meadow. Starfire waded in and shivered as the cold water met her feet. In a few minutes, her feet were numb and she walked downstream, making sure of her footing before continuing on.  
  
***  
  
Robin watched silently from the cover of the tree's branches at the Queen of Asalen played in the water. She didn't act like most royalty he had met before. She seemed to be so childish. But, then again, Robin thought, you can't judge a book by its cover. A lot of nobles pretend to be something they're not. They have to, Court life and tradition makes them. It was many an assassin's fatal mistake, judging people, under- or overestimating an enemy could be deadly, especially the former.  
  
He looked again at the Queen. It's almost a pity to kill her; she's so naïve and childish.  
  
***  
  
Starfire climbed out of the river and twirled. She danced around, partially to warm up her feet and partially just to have fun. Her advisors (and the rest of the Court) would have a cow if they saw her right now. She wasn't acting royal and dignified as she was supposed to. She wasn't elegant and calm. But Starfire really didn't care. She was having fun. The dancing she was doing was nothing like the usual restricted Court dances where she was only supposed to dance the opening dance and then retire to her throne to watch everybody else dance. Those were no fun. She only survived those because her best friend, Raven, stood beside her and talked, well, listened, and kept Star from going insane.  
  
Raven was the daughter of a King from a distant planet. She had run off because of her father and had absolutely no plans to return. Raven hated her father. Starfire didn't know much about the enigmatic girl but she could surmise that from the little information and fewer emotions that Raven let drop through her mask.  
  
Raven rarely spoke about her past or about anything, but she was Star's closest friend. Raven was one of her advisors and the only one who knew where she went on her excursions and even came with her occasionally. That reminded her; it was getting late and she needed to get back to the palace before her advisors and bodyguards got into a hysterical fit. Starfire jumped into the air and skimmed over the grass and flowers of the meadow before rising higher into the air and going back to palace life.  
  
***  
  
Robin thought back to what he had just seen of the Queen. She was quite pretty but when she danced around she was stunning. Her bright green eyes, her luscious red hair-stop that! Robin scolded himself. He was here on business and it would be the worst thing to ever happen to him if he were to fall in love with the person he had been sent to kill. It wouldn't be good to fall in love with anyone much less a definite target! Emotions were dangerous in his profession. They could cause just a moment's hesitation which could result in the finale of an assassin's part in the play.  
  
Robin shook himself and started thinking about how he would be able to enter the Queen's Court and get himself close enough to her to kill her. A servant, perhaps, or a guard. Perhaps a bodyguard would be the best. Then he would be close enough to the Queen and have a certain amount of mobility that a servant's position would not ensure.  
  
Plan set in his mind, Robin started toward the palace and his new life, at least for a few months.  
  
***  
  
Hope ya'll like it so far! Lemme know in your reviews! 


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry about the long wait!!!! Really I am! Well first I was grounded, then I had to redo my science fair, then my computer deleted the fic! So my life's been hell recently, how's yours?  
  
Hope the length makes up for the not updating!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Raven was waiting for her when Starfire arrived back at the palace. The sorceress greeted her with a monotonous, "you missed the meeting you had this afternoon. The Prime Minister of the Altarians is beside himself with anger and is threatening to call off negotiations. Which he will not do of course, because if he does, his country will be in even worse shape than it already is and there will be a rebellion.  
  
"And speaking of Prime Ministers, yours sent his son by with a message about wanting to have the evening meal with you to discuss your constant running away from your bodyguards. Other than that, you didn't miss a thing."  
  
Starfire beamed at Raven. "Thank you, Raven, what would I do without you?!"  
  
"Either run away and never come back or get in so much trouble that you'd never get out of it again. Or both," Raven replied dryly.  
  
"You said that the Prime Minister's son came by? The shape-shifter - what is his name?" Star asked even though she knew the answer.  
  
"Beastboy," Raven mumbled.  
  
"Ah! I knew you would know! Does he love you as much as you love him?" Starfire's eyes were wide-eyed in innocence.  
  
"I don't do love." Raven's tone was flat. (a/n: sorry if you guys don't support bb/raven, I do)  
  
"Sure! And that is why you use any excuse you can to see him. And why you blush whenever he is mentioned. And why---"Starfire cut herself off when something nearby shattered. "Alright, I will stop! I would get in too much trouble if the entire palace shattered."  
  
Raven refused to reply and walked out of the room. Starfire felt sorry for her friend. It was obvious to Star at least that Raven was in love but her power kept her from displaying any emotion. And probably from admitting to her feelings as well. Star glanced at her clock and sighed. It was time to get ready for her meeting with the Prime Minister. Back to reality.  
  
***  
  
Robin busted through another practice dummy with a flying sidekick. He was in the middle of a test to pick out new bodyguards for the Queen. Apparently, she kept ditching her old ones. This test was designed to pick out bodyguards to keep up with their queen. For Robin, it could have been godsent. It fit with his plans perfectly. Or the half-plans he had formed. As Batman had taught him, "battle plans seldom survive the first encounter with the enemy."  
  
Robin finished the test having barely broken a sweat. The Weaponsmaster's apprentice wrote down his results on a sheet of paper. The half man half machine came over and held out his hand. (a/n: hm....wonder who this is! Maybe.....chickenman?)  
  
"I'm Cyborg. You're a good fighter. All those others are losers. Care to go against me sometime?" the teenage robot asked.  
  
Robin grasped the offered hand warmly. Part of his brain said, Best to act friendly, while another thought, a cyborg named cyborg? How original! "Drake, Tim Drake. (a/n: Bond. James Bond. ^ ^;;) Are you sure you wanna try me? I'll end up winning."  
  
"You wish! 'Sides, if you can beat me, there's no way an assassin can get to Star!"  
  
"Star?" If she's who I think she is, tin man here just said something you call 'ironic.'  
  
"The Queen," Cyborg clarified. I was right. "We've known each other forever and I forget that most people don't know her by her nickname.  
  
"C'mon! Since you're the last one, I'll show you to the next part of the test!"  
  
Robin nodded, brain going 100 mph. Apparently the Queen encouraged familiarity. Good, that would make his job easier. Also, from what Cyborg had said, a position of bodyguard was practically guaranteed. You're getting cocky again, Robin, a part of him warned himself. Another part said, Stuff it. (a/n: imagine angel/devil sitting on shoulders scenario! Hee hee! ^ ^)  
  
The next part was sparring against a member of the Queen's Own. Normally bodyguards would come from the ranks but this time the bodyguards would join the Own. In name only of course, their responsibilities were only to the Queen, not the country.  
  
Robin followed Cyborg to a lean, tall figure with muscles like steel who was watching a pair of fighters.  
  
"Moonsword!" Cyborg hailed. "That's the Weaponsmaster," he said to Robin. The Weaponsmaster held up a finger to signal Cyborg to wait a moment.  
  
When the match was over, the figure came over. Robin blinked. The Weaponsmaster was female...that was odd. Granted she certainly didn't look frail or delicate. More like solid steel. "What is it, Cy?" the Weaponsmaster asked.  
  
"New guy. He whizzed through the practice course like it was nothing. Mind if I spar him? He's the last one."  
  
Moonsword scrutinized Robin who returned her gaze evenly. Then she held out her hand like Cyborg had done earlier. "Weaponsmaster Moonsword. Good ta have ya! Mybe you'll be better than these other lazy, good-for- nothin' asses! What's your name, boy?"  
  
"Tim Drake," Robin replied.  
  
"And before you ask again, Cy, yes you can spar him. Just leave somethin' for me when you're done, right?" And with that, Moonsword turned to watch another match.  
  
The two boys started walking away. "Don't let the tough attitude scare you. She's as sweet as a kitten." Cyborg grinned when they heard Moonsword yell back at them without turning her gaze from the match. "I heard that! And if I hear it again, you'll be wishing they made you all metal so you couldn't feel pain!"  
  
"What's I tell you? Sweet as a kitten. A slightly murderous and bloodthirsty one, of course. By the way, what weapons can you handle?"  
  
Robin thought fast. Best not to let them know what all I can do. Batman had taught him all kinds of combat but his favorite was the use of the retractable pole. It was a great assassin's weapon, able to be hidden under clothing unseen and good for long- and short-range fighting. "I'm good with a sword and knives, but I prefer bare-handed combat."  
  
"You speak my language." They reached an empty sparring ring. "You ready?"  
  
"It's your funeral," Robin replied, then attacked.  
  
Cyborg blocked the kick aimed at his head and smiled, This'll be fun!  
  
[insert fight scene]  
  
[imagine "apprentice" fight but without the "I don't wanna do this! Don't make me do this!" from cy]  
  
[author is too lazy to write long extensive fight but instead substitutes in lame commentary]  
  
They were still at it when Moonsword came over an yelled, "TIME!" The two broke apart, Cyborg panting, Robin breathing heavily.  
  
"I'm impressed. I've only seen that style once before, from a Dragon warrior who passed through here a few years ago." She paused, obviously waiting for an answer.  
  
"I trained under one for a few years."  
  
Moonsword nodded but didn't say anything. Dragon warriors were a group of elite warriors who roamed around after training from childhood. The students learned all types of fighting. Robin had studied under one, but then a former assassin had taken over his training. The assassin known as Batman had taught him everything he needed to know to be the best. From poisoning to lying to head on combat, Robin learned it all. He had finished his training a few years ago and was now the most sought after assassin throughout the underworld.  
  
Robin was brought out of his reverie by Moonsword. "You'll be a good bodyguard, especially against an assassin. I've never seen anyone get past a Dragon. 'Course, they'll have to Truth-spell you to make sure you won't kill the Queen or anything but it's just ceremonial. So I'm done with you. For now at least. I expect you'll be training when you're off duty, so feel free to use the salle." The salle was the training hall and also where the Weaponsmaster lived. "Cyborg, show him and the others to Master Draven's office. That's where they'll be Truth-spelled."  
  
"Will do," Cyborg replied before leading Robin and the other soon-to- be bodyguards out of the training area and to another set of buildings. Cyborg led them through a series of halls that Robin knew would take him awhile to find his way out if he didn't study it before hand. Making a mental note to do just that, they stopped in front of a wood door with an engraved gold plaque saying "Draven Silvereye, Mage, Scholar, Truth- speller."  
  
Cyborg knocked on the door. "Master Draven? It's Cyborg and I have the new bodyguards."  
  
"What? New bodyguards? Oh yes! Come in, Cyborg. I remember now," a voice inside called. Cyborg opened the door to reveal....chaos. Books, scrolls, and papers were stacked on the everywhere except for a path leading from the door to a cluttered desk and to another door, probably leading to the mage's quarters. A man, presumably, Draven Silvereye, sat at the lone chair next to the desk. He had the typical scholar look to him. Loose, comfortable, slightly worn clothing, hair tied back hastily, glasses perched in his nose.  
  
"So these are the new bodyguards?" Silvereye asked. "I guess I'd better Truth-spell them. It won't take long." The mage moved to the first bodyguard and drew the signs that Robin recognized as those for casting a Truth-spell. A silver light appeared momentarily around the bodyguard's face. The first was a tall, willowy blonde wolooked like she'd break if she held a sword.  
  
"Name?" Silvereye asked.  
  
"Erasea Dren," the woman replied monotonously, as if in a trance. If the silver glow had reappeared, it would have meant she would have lied.  
  
"Erasea Dren do you swear to protect the Queen Starfire with your life?"  
  
"I do." (a/n: and now you may kiss the bride! *falls on floor laughing* HAHAHA)  
  
The mage moved on to the next person. Erasea blinked as if waking up. The next inline was a medium height, well-built, black-haired teen about Robin's age. His name was Aqualad. (a/n: *droooooooooool*) The next were two twins who were identical with their reddish-brown shoulder length hair and bright blue eyes. One was named Taiyo and the other Ateru. After them was another girl by the name of Terra. (a/n: I would assume you guys know what she looks like)  
  
Then it was Robin's turn. He had taken "precautions" as his mentor ha called it for this sort of thing ahead of time. Basically, it would allow him to lie under Truth-spell, but it wasn't completely reliable as it could be detected if the mage knew what to look for. With luck, this one wouldn't. Robin only lied under Truth-spell when he had to because the powder he swallowed to fool the spell wasn't as reliable as he would have liked.  
  
"Name?"  
  
"Tim Drake."  
  
Mage: wah waha ahahsdlhga;roa rgh;  
  
"I do." Mentally, Robin held his breath, but the mage showed no sign of seeing anything wrong.  
  
Silvereye nodded to Cyborg. "They're all good to go."  
  
Then Cyborg took the group out. He took them back to the salle where Moonsword was waiting for them. Cyborg nodded to the Weaponsmaster and left.  
  
"Tonight you will be meeting the Queen. You have two hours. I suggest you rest before making yourselves presentable. If my grandmother was here, she'd be telling you that you look like you've danced through hell in paper shoes. Now, you'll be staying in the guards' barracks which are over there." Moonsword pointed to a building. "Here are the keys to your rooms, try not to loose them. They say your room number on them. Now scram"  
  
Robin and the other walked over to the building and started looking for their rooms. When Robin stepped inside his, he thought, Now for the easy part: the actual assassination.  
  
***  
  
The Prime Minister stood up when Star entered the room. She motioned for him to sit. She hated standing on ceremony when she didn't have to. Starfire was dressed in what was supposed to be a graceful, becoming gown of emerald green. In reality it was a bulky thing that was hot and so tight she could hardly breathe.  
  
Starfire struggled to contain her giggles when she saw the Prime Minister's son. She had practically forced Raven to come and Star could just imagine her reaction to the fact that he was here. The Queen hadn't told Raven he would be.  
  
Starfire sat down across form her Prime Minister, whose name was Elren, leaving the only empty seat the one across from Beastboy. Raven took it reluctantly.  
  
"Raven said you wished to speak to me?" Star cut right to the point.  
  
"Yes," Elren said as the servants started bringing the first course. "It concerns your little outing this afternoon. Star, you absolutely cannot keep leaving the palace whenever you feel like it. One, you know you could easily be attacked and two, it is hardly proper."  
  
"I can defend myself perfectly well," Star pointed out.  
  
"Against three even four attackers, yes, I agree. But not against a trained assassin or if you were caught off guard." He held up a finger to stop Star from arguing. "You know I am right. A s to propriety, I have no problem with you going off on your own, but it seems everyone else in the world does. As a solution, I had the Weaponsmaster choose 6 bodyguards for you, 2 of which will accompany you most of the time." Seeing that Star was speechless, the Prime Minister motioned to a servant who opened the door and ushered a group of people in. Star saw that it was made up of 2 girls, 2 guys that had to be twins, another man (who didn't look bad at all), and then the last of the group came in.  
  
****  
  
End of this chapter! I'll try to get the next one up ASAP! 


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry about the wait! (And how this chapter is kinda short) And if you don't support Raven/BB, too bad! I don't care! Hey did you know that if you mistype Slade's name you end up with Salad? Anyways moving on...  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Star had to restrain herself from drooling when she saw the last of her bodyguards walk in (A/N: we all know the feeling, don't we?). He was about her age, probably a year or two older. He had messily styled hair and stormy blue-grey eyes.  
  
With effort, Starfire tore her eyes away from him and turned to her Prime Minister. "Is this really necessary? I can protect myself, you know!" To emphasize her point, her eyes glowed green momentarily.  
  
"Yes, it is. And although I know you can protect yourself, everyone else does not. Trust me, it is necessary."  
  
Star sighed. She wanted more freedom, not less. She'd give up the queen thing in an instant if she could! She hated it! She wasn't allowed to do what she wanted; she had to try to please everyone; she couldn't be herself; and now she had to have bodyguards with her constantly! It wasn't fair! Star sighed again. Whining wouldn't solve anything.  
  
"Fine. As it seems I have no choice, I suppose I'll have to agree to it."  
  
"Good, because if you didn't agree, I was going to call in your advisors and have them blabber on for hours until you agreed just to shut them up. But that would've been painful for us both, so I'm glad I didn't have to resort to that. Now let us enjoy this wonderful food!"  
  
Star glanced at Raven, who met her eyes. Star looked significantly at Beastboy, the Prime Minister's son, and bit her lip to keep from grinning at the glare the received.  
  
Robin smirked when he got back to his room. This job was going to be amazingly easy, probably the easiest he'd ever taken on. These people were too trusting. They didn't suspect a thing. And as for the Queen knowing how to protect herself, that was laughable! She was a queen. He highly doubted that she had been allowed to learn to fight. Besides, even if she had (which he seriously doubted), she probably wasn't any good at it. Robin had met nobility before who had thought they had known how to fight. Had. Quite a few of those nobles no longer existed in the world of the living.  
  
Robin started getting ready for bed, clearing his mind. If he didn't, his thoughts would not only keep him awake half the night, but, when he finally slept, his dreams would be... unpleasant. Unpleasant as in consisting of all his past victims coming back to haunt him. Not fun. So Robin made sure to clear his mind before sleeping. Not a bad price to pay for keeping his sanity.  
  
But even as he climbed into bed, he couldn't help but feel pity that such a childish (and obviously reluctant) Queen would have to die before she was even out of her teens.  
  
King Slade smiled. It was not a nice smile, but the cold, cruel smile of a man who was not quite sane. He smiled because soon his plans would bear fruit. The assassin Robin was in place and soon that child Starfire would be dead. Then Slade would move in and add another planet to his empire. And as for Robin...  
  
Perhaps it was time Slade took on an apprentice, someone to continue his work when he had gone. Slade had done some research on the assassin named Robin and come up with very little. At least, very little official information. When he had talked to his contacts on the other side of "legal," he had found out a bit more. Mostly rumor, but, when added to what he already knew of the teen, had become most enlightening  
  
The two of them were alike in many ways. Persistent when it came to getting something they wanted; ruthless when someone or something stood in their way; cunning, Robin getting himself hired as a bodyguard to the one he was supposed to kill took skill; and resourceful, using whatever was at their disposal to achieve their goals.  
  
The assassin Robin would make a very fine apprentice indeed. 


	5. Chapter 4

So we've got an insight into Slade's mind, Star's, and Robin's. Maybe I can get more of the other three titans in this chapter instead of (very) brief cameos like last time. BB didn't even have a line. ( Poor thing. I just got finished watching the episode, I think its called Winner Take All or something, you know the one with the tournament of champions. Well, I'm thinking maybe I can squeeze Speedy and Joto in. (Joto's the fire one right? And that is his name, isn't it? I only saw the second half off the episode so I'm still clueless) Well, here it goes the next chapter in Assassin's Bane!  
  
Chapter.........what chapter is this? Four?  
  
Robin sighed with relief as the two twins, Taiyo and Ateru, replaced him from his shift as bodyguard. He had been standing in the Evening Court all evening (well, duh Robin, did you expect it to be in the morning?) and before that he had attended the afternoon meetings Starfire had had for a total of eight hours. His feet were killing him. Standing up for almost eight hours straight was not a fun thing to do.  
  
His partner in suffering was the blonde girl Terra. He had had to conceal laughter when he saw the Prime Minister's son, Beastboy or something like that, watching her with hearts in her eyes. He had nearly passed out when she had winked at him and it was all Robin could do to not burst out laughing which was a most un-bodyguard-like thing to do. Terra tended to talk a lot too. Well, maybe not a lot, but it was a lot compared to Robin who usually said two words at the most. She talked about how nice the queen was and everybody was so helpful and how being a bodyguard was more fun than she thought and blah blah blah blah. Robin stopped listening after a while. He did notice that she didn't say much about herself or her past. Well, everyone's got secrets, he thought. Look at me. I'm an assassin working as a bodyguard for the one I'm supposed to murder and my past isn't exactly clean. I'm sure she'll tell me eventually. Not that I care.  
  
They'd been at this job for a week and a half. Robin had planned out exactly how and when he could dispose of Starfire. He mentally shook his head. Stop thinking of her as "Starfire!" That will make it harder for you to do you job! Don't get familiar with your target, one of the most important rules of being an assassin, second only to "Don't get caught" and "Your skin is the one you should worry about saving, not someone else's."  
  
Finally Terra had something else to do other than bug him. He headed to the salle. He and Cyborg had agreed to spend some more time together and fight once or twice. Robin figured he'd better enjoy it while he could. Soon he wouldn't have a job as a bodyguard anymore.  
  
###  
  
Raven was meditating, repeating the same three words over and over. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zin---"  
  
"Hey Raven! What'cha doin?" an excited voice interrupted her. Raven's eyes flew open. Beastboy, the annoying green changeling that he was, was standing in front of her with a grin on his face.  
  
"Meditating." Raven replied, closing her eyes again. If I ignore him, he'll just go away.  
  
"Why? You're always meditating. Don't you think that you do enough of it? Let's go do something!"  
  
"Because I have to control my powers. And I have to do it everyday."  
  
"You've already done enough today! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease let's go do something!!!!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease??????" Beastboy begged.  
  
Raven opened one eye. "If I do, then will you let me meditate in peace?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Fine then. What do you want to do?"  
  
"Uh...." Beastboy obviously hadn't thought about it beforehand. Raven rolled her eyes. This was going to be excruciating.  
  
###  
  
Cyborg wiped the sweat off the human part of his face. He had just finished sparring with Tim (that's Robin) and had just barely won. But something was worrying him. Maybe it was the feeling that the bodyguard had held back in their fight so Cyborg would win.  
  
Or maybe it was something else. Cyborg had always been one of those people who could sense when something was wrong or someone wasn't all they seemed to be. His "bad feelings" usually ended up as more than just "bad feelings." Call it a six sense, call it whatever you want, but Cyborg had always had it. And now it was telling him something wasn't quite right with this Tim Drake fellow. Perhaps he should do some research and see what he could find out about him...  
  
Three hours, forty-seven minutes, and twenty seconds later, Cyborg had his answer. Well, sort of. The file he had found was very brief and inconclusive. Tim Drake, born on planet Davetha, had been sold into slavery by a father with too many gambling debts. He was bought and sold until he escaped at age six. Present whereabouts unknown. Presumed dead. That was all the information Cyborg could find.  
  
So either the teen he had met and fought with was an escaped slave or an imposter. Either way wasn't good. If he was an escaped slave, he would have to be returned to his previous owner or paid for. If he was an imposter, they had a big problem. If he had lied about his identity under a Truth Spell, he could have lied about other things. Cyborg hoped fervently that wasn't the case. They had a picture of Tim Drake with his meager profile, and, granted it had been taken at age five, it resembled the Tim Drake he knew.  
  
But why would a slave know martial arts, much less be so good at it? And the Dragon warrior training was also bizarre. Again the thought of an imposter came into his mind. And again Cyborg hoped it wasn't true, for Star's sake. If he was an imposter, he could have been sent to hurt Star or someone else. Also she had come to him earlier in the day and they had talked. One of the subjects that had come up was her new bodyguards. She had taken a liking to Tim, and although she hadn't actually said she liked him and had talked about the others as well, Cyborg could tell something was different about him. That sixth sense again. This was going from bad to worse.  
  
Let's try something else. Cyborg scanned in an image of the bodyguard and searched for any matches. The computerized voice said, "Search in progress. Estimated time: 3 hours and 20 minutes. 0 % complete." Cyborg groaned. Better go do something else and come back later. He looked at the clock. Time to recharge. He'd check the computer in the morning.  
  
###  
  
Starfire smiled to herself as she fell asleep. Her new bodyguards were so nice. The two girls were wonderful to talk to and the boys were courteous and so sweet. Not to mention gorgeous, she thought and then chided herself. No thinking like that! You shouldn't be going and falling in love with your bodyguard! Even is he does have gorgeous black hair and beautiful blue-grey eyes... she added as an afterthought.  
  
###  
  
Robin opened his trunk. Underneath the false bottom was a collection of vials, weapons, jars, a few books on subjects relating to his work, and other odds and ends. Many of the vials and jars contained poison or the ingredients to make it. Others contained potions and powders like the one that had helped him pass the Truth Spell. He selected two and held them up for inspection. Just the ones he wanted. Alone they were completely harmless, together fatal.  
  
Poison was his favorite means of disposing of his targets. Called the "assassin's weapon," it was accurately named. Sneaky, hard to be held responsible for, and, most importantly, lethal. Much like an assassin was.  
  
So long as the two liquids were taken within 24 hours of each other, the suspect would die. They created a slow-acting poison that would give him time to get away from the scene of the crime. The first he could slip into her drink at dinner. She had tasters, but they wouldn't notice anything. The second one he could put into the tea Starfire drank before going to bed. She didn't have a taster for that, as the only ones who knew were those close to her. Tomorrow he would have the opportunity to give it to her as his shift was the dinner/night time shift.  
  
Still, Robin felt sorry for Starfire. He didn't want to have to kill her but it was his job. He wondered why that King Slade wanted her dead. Over the week and a half that he had been here he had gotten to know her a little. She seemed to be a kind, innocent, overstressed girl with a workload she didn't want. He was almost reminded of himself. He didn't want to be an assassin, but he hadn't had a choice, just as she had no choice about being Queen.  
  
Robin caught himself and told himself to stop acting compassionate. You are an assassin! A killer! You are not supposed to feel sorry for the one you're killing! Tomorrow she dies, he thought, end of story.  
  
###  
  
A/N: How's it going? Good? Great? Unbelievably, wonderfully, spectacularly amazingly? That's nice. Notice Robin has a hard time following his own advice. Don't call her by her name! And what does he do? Calls her by her name.  
  
Sorry BB fans! He's getting no screen time what so ever huh? And the screen time he does get is either drooling over Terra or annoying Raven. At least he got a couple lines this time!  
  
Beastboy: #sob# Why don't I get to show up and make jokes?! This fic needs some comic relief! It's too dark and angsty!  
  
Author: #raises eyebrow# Dark and angsty? It's not dark and there's hardly and actual angst in here. Besides, if I don't have some angst, it'd be really stupid. It'd be like: Robin and Starfire meet and fall insanely in love with each other with no guilt on either side. Slade is forgotten or dies from the flu and everyone lives happily ever after. The end. No, way too boring. Go drool over Terra or something.  
  
Beastboy: #leaves# TERRAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!  
  
Raven: #glares jealously# I am so not jealous. I don't know what you're talking about. #random lamp explodes#  
  
Author: ......surrrrrre you are......#struggles to hold in laughter#  
  
WAH! My asterisks aren't showing up on so I have to use weird number signs instead!  
  
Somehow I get the feeling I'm rushing through this. Tell me if I am, okay? 


	6. Chapter 5

Okay, first off I want to thank all of my wonderful reviewers you are the best in the world! Special thanks to pixii and sayianmaster88, your ideas really helped!! Pixii, you might recognize some of the parts in here!   
  
And now I want to yell at Memai (who will not be reading this chapter just like she has not read the last THREE!!!!!!!) READ THIS AND REVIEW!!!! NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Alright, now that I got that over with.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Robin showed no emotion on the outside but he was boiling inside. They had changed him around with some of the other bodyguards so he was now on afternoon shift instead of the evening one. Now he would have to wait another day before getting rid of Starfire! Unless he went with another plan...  
  
The problem with that was none of the other plans were as sure fire as the original. A front on attack was out of the question. Even he couldn't fight off that many people at once. And, besides, his cover would be blown and everyone would know what the assassin Robin looked like. The other poisons he had were fast acting and would take out the taste testers so then Star would know someone was trying to kill her. So he'd just have to stick with the original plan.  
  
Calm down, he told himself. That just means she'll have one more day to live. No biggie. Robin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
Well, he'd better go get ready for guard duty since he would be expected to relieve the others in a few moments. Robin checked his appearance. Clothes on properly, mask in place (figuratively, of course), sword buckled to his belt, his assassin's weapons hidden, yep he was ready to go.  
  
###  
  
Star looked up when the door to her office opened and closed. She felt her breath catch in her throat. Her bodyguards were changing and one of the new ones was Tim Drake with his gorgeous black hair and his beautiful blue-grey eyes that were always so emotionless.  
  
Star tore herself away from those eyes and looked back at her paperwork. Not nearly as exciting but necessary all the same. The IPTA, or Inter-Planetary Trade Association, required fifty pounds of paperwork each month so her people could trade with others. Apparently one of her people had been found smuggling goods and now IPTA wanted to perform a thorough search and blah blah blah. It gave her a migraine. It even gave her migraine a migraine!  
  
###  
  
Robin stood up against the wall, watching Star fumble through papers, muttering to herself. He couldn't stop a smile from breaking through his calm facade at how hopeless she was. She obviously wasn't fit for such a stressful job, but either way, she had no choice.  
  
But neither do you, he reminded himself.  
  
Yes, you do, you don't have to take this job, a traitorous part of his mind whispered back. You have enough money. You can skip this job. There will be others.  
  
I've already accepted. I can't go back on my word!  
  
You can...and you know it. What's more, you want to.  
  
With an angry mental shove, Robin forced the voice out of his mind. He cleared his mind of thoughts. He was not going to let this job go. He was not getting feelings for St-his target and he was going to prove it! And I have got to stop calling her by her name. She's the target I'm the assassin. I get rid of her no matter what and do not let feelings get in the way.  
  
You know you won't be able to do it. Great, the voice was back. What else could go wrong?  
  
A loud clatter interrupted his mental argument. "I can't take this anymore! I'm going out," Star, er, the Queen said. She had thrown her pen across the room and was standing up. I had to ask, didn't I?  
  
"Your Majesty! You can't! The Prime Minister said—"Erasea's feeble attempts to stop her Queen were hopeless.  
  
"I do not care what the Prime Minister said! I stay in here any longer and I will go crazy!" The Queen then stormed out of the room, Erasea and Robin following after her. It looked to Robin like she was headed towards her rooms. When they got there, they saw her leaving from the balcony.  
  
Erasea sighed, defeated. "I'll run and go get Terra. She can follow Starfire in the air. Be right back." Robin nodded and waited as she took off at an almost inhuman sprint.  
  
About fifteen seconds later, Erasea and Terra had arrived, panting. Terra closed her eyes and raised her hands. A rumbling was heard and a moment later they saw three chunks of rock floating in front of them.  
  
"Hop on!" Terra cried and the three of them jumped on. They sped after Starfire, who looked like she was going to the field where Robin had first seen her. Finally they caught up with her. She hadn't been trying to lose them, just get out of the palace. They landed and Star looked at them, smiling.  
  
"Sorry, it's just sometimes I can't take it anymore," she apologized.  
  
"That's alright, we understand. I'm amazed at you though. If it were me, I'd go crazy within a week," Terra said.  
  
We do what we have to do, Robin thought sadly. Even if we really don't want to.  
  
###  
  
When Cyborg had woken up that day, he had checked his computer. It said: "Error: hard drive failure. Please restart computer." He glared at it. Just his luck. He had restarted the computer and started the search again. "Search in progress. Estimated time: 7 hours and 26 minutes. 0% complete." Cyborg groaned, this is worse than last time!  
  
Seven hours and twenty minutes later, Cyborg came back. His computer said: "Search in progress. Estimated time remaining: 2 hours and 14 minutes."  
  
"WHAT!?! IT SHOULD SAY ONLY SIX MINUTES NOT ANOTHER TWO HOURS!!!!!!" But, unbeknownst to Cyborg his computer had changed its mind on how long it would take to search the network. (a/n: Don't you hate it when your computer does that to you?! Mine does it all the time).  
  
Cyborg, after cussing his computer out for those fourteen minutes, left to go help Moonsword.  
  
###  
  
Robin woke up early that next morning, his every nerve buzzing. Today would be the end of this job. Today Starfire would die. He bit his lip; the thought saddened him. He, alright he had to admit, had grown almost fond of the young Queen. She was a lot like him except much more innocent and pure. The light to his shadow, if you wanted to get poetic about it.  
  
He got up and walked through the halls to the kitchen. He was hungry and most of the court wouldn't be up for a few hours so he would have to either get the food directly from the cooks or wait three and a half hours. The latter didn't sound to fun.  
  
Robin was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize someone was walking towards him until he bumped into them, knocking the them over. He berated himself for getting so absorbed in his thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to anything else. "I'm sorry," he said automatically at the same time the other person did. He froze. It was Starfire.  
  
"Oh, Tim, I'm really sorry! I was just thinking and I didn't see you," she explained, sounding flustered.  
  
"No, it's alright, your majesty, I should have been paying attention to where I was going."  
  
Starfire visibly winced. "Please, it's Star or Starfire. Only officials and Court call me 'your majesty.' I can't stand it, it makes me sound like a pompous prick."  
  
Robin almost smiled. It did, but it was also what was proper. "Very well, then Starfire, I should have been watching where I was going. Let me help you up." He reached a hand down to her, which she took, and pulled. She stood up and Robin's breath caught. They were standing very close to one another. He could smell her scent, flowers, although he couldn't tell what kind, and a potpourri. Without thinking, he slowly bent his head down (she was tall but he was taller) and pressed his lips to hers, closing his eyes. He felt her lips moving against his and he wrapped his arms around her—  
  
His eyes flew open. DAMMIT! Just what did he think he was doing!?! He jerked away, eyes wide, turned, and walked quickly down the hall, stopping as soon as he turned the corner. He leaned against the wall. Bad Robin bad Robin bad Robin repeated in his head while his stomach fluttered uncomfortably. How could he do something so phenomenally stupid?!!!! Kissing his target was one of the things Batman had told him never to do.  
  
Of course, what was it Batman did? Fall in love with one of his targets? Robin froze. Oh...no... No, I've still got to get rid of her and the sooner, the better. Tonight it is.  
  
###  
  
Raven walked through the training yards to the salle. A couple of the men training there called out to her (mostly rude things) but she ignored them. She opened the salle door and walked down the hall to where Cyborg was training some newcomers in basic hand combat.  
  
"Now when your opponent is armed and you're not, there are—"Cy was saying.  
  
"Cyborg, I need to talk to you," she interrupted him.  
  
"Sure, Rae, what's up?" he greeted.  
  
"Alone." She glared at the class.  
  
"Alright, c'mon." Cyborg walked out into the hall and she followed him. "So, what'd you want to talk to me about?"  
  
"Star's new bodyguard. Something isn't right. I don't trust him."  
  
"Which 'he'? Remember, I'm not the mind reader, you are. Although I think I know exactly who you're talking about."  
  
Raven rolled her eyes. "Tim Drake. He's hiding something but I can't tell what. I can hardly feel any emotions from him. I can detect guilt, self –anger, and reluctance about something but he's been too well trained for anything else to get through." (a/n: Somewhere I heard that Raven was an empathy (she can sense emotions) so I'm going to include that here)  
  
"Sounds like we have a lot to talk about. Let me dismiss this class and I'll show you what I found when I searched for files on him." Raven heard all the students scrambling to their seats as Cyborg stuck his head in the door. Pesky little eavesdroppers. Hopefully they hadn't heard much of anything.  
  
"Come on." Cyborg led her to his rooms where he kept his computer. "When I searched for 'Tim Drake' I came up with next to nothing." He minimized something and pulled up another file. It had Tim Drake written across the top and about three sentences written below a picture. "Says here that Tim Drake was sold into slavery at age three and escaped at age six. No one's seen or heard from him since. And he's supposed to be dead. So either we have some dead escaped slave as a bodyguard or he's not the real Tim Drake. Either way we're in trouble.  
  
"I did another search, one where I searched his picture instead of his name. I haven't gotten a chance to look at the results though. I was too tired last night." Cyborg scrolled down the page, scanning the pictures.  
  
"Stop. Look there." Raven pointed at one picture. Cyborg enlarged the photo and read the writing next to it.  
  
"Multi-millionaire, business tycoon Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises attends party at the Tiem Resort on Ymion with ward Timothy Wayne, his nephew." It was a picture of a whole bunch of rich people and right in the middle was "Timothy Wayne" or as they knew him, Tim Drake.  
  
"What's a guy like him doing as a bodyguard?" Cyborg asked. "He doesn't need to work, he's so filthy rich!"  
  
"Who is this Bruce Wayne? I know I've heard of him before," Raven wanted to know.  
  
"You don't know who Bruce Wayne is?! He's only the most important—" Raven tuned Cyborg out as he started to rant about how wonderful Bruce Wayne was. She reached over him and clicked on the screen with all of the pictures on it. She stopped and narrowed her eyes at one before opening it. It was a picture of a young man with gelled black hair holding what looked like a metal pole. He was dressed all in black and a black and white mask on but there was no mistaking who it was. It was Tim Drake.  
  
Who, according to the picture, was also the first class assassin Robin.  
  
###  
  
#dramatic music plays# duh duh duh. Well, there's the next chapter. And sayianmaster88, you got your Cyborg/Raven time there. I like that couple too, its just that there are a lot more bb/raven fics and I started reading those before terra even existed. I like cy/raven because then Cyborg gets some love too, but I'll just stick with BB/Raven since that's already here. Although BB has about three lines in the entire story. Oops. 


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry this took so long; I was at camp for two weeks. I went to Firespark! Which is the BEST camp ever and if you can go, you should.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Robin spent the rest of the day keeping his mind anywhere but Starfire. Which got kind of hard considering he was bodyguarding that night and had to get ready to assassinate her. But he managed, most of the time. When he took over his shift, Star blushed and averted her face. He was barely able to keep control over his mask, but still was able to look as stoic as always.  
  
That night at dinner he had slipped the first half of the poison into her drink. One of the five taste testers that hung around her had sampled it, but to no effect. Fools, Robin thought, they know nothing about assassins. If they did, they'd know that a spell would be more reliable than them simply tasting it. It could be a slow acting poison or one that would only affect the intended victim. Or that a poison can be taken in two parts and neither part have an effect on its own, he added with a smirk.  
  
Now that he was actually in the process of an assassination, his reluctance and indecision had faded and he had been able to force them to the back of his mind. That kiss, however, he couldn't escape that no matter what he tried. That was why he had to kill Starfire soon, before he lost his nerve.  
  
###  
  
Cyborg and Raven looked at each other in horror. The very thing they had been trying to prevent by hiring bodyguards had happened. And now Star was in danger.  
  
"You Truth-spelled him, didn't you?" Raven asked sharply.  
  
"Of course! I didn't but Master Silvereye did."  
  
"Then how'd he get past that? And why hasn't he killed Starfire yet?" Raven murmured.  
  
"Don't know, but we need to warn Star! If it's not too late already! He's on bodyguard duty right now." Raven nodded agreement and the two took off toward the main palace.  
  
###  
  
"Can someone get me some tea please?" Star asked, just as she did every night. "I need something to help me get to sleep."  
  
"I'll get it," Robin volunteered. Star looked at him and blushed.  
  
"Thanks," she said quietly. Robin left the room and headed down to the kitchens. The tea was waiting for him. Since Star asked for some at the same time every night, it was always ready to go.  
  
As he was bringing it back up to her quarters, he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a vial. It contained the second part of the poison. He hesitantly uncorked it and poured just a few drops into the mug of tea before placing the vial back.  
  
Stop it, Robin, you don't have to do this, whispered the voice again. He stopped walking.  
  
Yes, I do. With a surge of effort he raised his hand to open the door. He hesitated, then opened it and walked in.  
  
"Thank you, Tim," Star said, taking the tea.  
  
Robin nodded and resumed his place by the door with difficulty. As if in slow motion, he watched Starfire bring the mug of tea to her lips.  
  
###  
  
Raven and Cyborg hurried down the corridors as fast as they could. Star was in her rooms, according to the servants they had asked. Cyborg knew that they wouldn't make it in time. How he knew that the assassin Robin would strike tonight instead of some other time, he could only blame it on that sixth sense of his. But that sense was also telling him that if he didn't hurry, Star wouldn't live to see the morning.  
  
###  
  
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo, CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!  
  
I'm evil I know!  
  
I'll be nice though. Here's some more!   
  
###  
  
I'm dead, was Robin's only thought as he threw away all the rules of being an assassin. He raced forward and knocked the cup out of Starfire's hands just as Raven and Cyborg burst in the door, Cyborg's arm converted to canon mode and Raven eyes glowing with her power. Raven flung him into the wall using her powers and kept him there as he groaned at the pain in his head.  
  
Seeing, he was too dazed to move, Raven let him slide to the floor but kept him from moving away from the wall.  
  
"Star! Are you alright?!" Cyborg demanded. "Are you hurt?" Star stood there, confused and uncomprehending at why her two friends had attacked one of her bodyguards.  
  
"Yes, what's going on?" she asked.  
  
Raven looked at Robin disgustedly. "Your bodyguard here is an assassin sent to kill you."  
  
Star gaped. "WHAT!?! You can't be serious!" Aqualad, the other bodyguard on duty, had his hand on his sword, ready to draw it if he needed to.  
  
"Raven's right. Tim Drake, if he's even the real Tim Drake, is the assassin Robin. He's one of the best in the business and I doubt he's here for a vacation," Cyborg confirmed, his canon arm still pointing at Robin.  
  
Star looked stunned at the news and sat on her bed just as her legs gave out. Robin, who was slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings, was looking anywhere but Starfire.  
  
"If he wanted to kill me," Star asked slowly, "then why has he not killed me yet? He has been my bodyguard for two weeks so why am I still alive?"  
  
"He was probably getting ready to kill you. Over the past two weeks he was toying with us, gaining our trust so that he could just laugh at our stupidity," Cyborg replied.  
  
"No," Robin said quietly. Everyone looked at him. "The reason I waited so long was because if I had killed Starfire right off, then I would be suspected."  
  
"You've had plenty of time to kill her even if you weren't going to do it right at first. Why did you wait?" Raven asked coldly.  
  
Robin looked down. "Because, because I am weak and couldn't do it." There he had said it. Admitting to weakness or defeat had never come easy to him and now it was just as hard as ever.  
  
"Why not?" Raven continued ruthlessly.  
  
"Number one rule of assassination: Never fall in love with the one you're supposed to kill." Everyone stared at him. He risked a glance at Star. Her eyes held hurt, disbelief, and something else that looked like...hope. He looked back down again. The hurt and betrayal in her eyes was too much for him.  
  
Oh, Batman, if you could see me right now, even you'd be laughing. Robin, the greatest assassin alive, falling in love with the one he's supposed to kill.  
  
There was no point in denying it. It had happened. Assassin's bane: love.  
  
###  
  
Okay, that's the actual end to the chapter. Hope you like it and I'll get the next one out soon. 


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

?I find that hard to believe. You fell in love with Star. Stop lying and tell us the truth, you coward,? Cyborg said. He seemed to have taken Robin?s true identity very personally.

?He?s not lying,? Raven said suddenly. ?He really did fall in love with Starfire and he hates himself for it. I can feel it.? She looked into Robin?s eyes and then into Cyborg?s. ?He?s telling the truth. Or at least part of it.?

?Then I want all of it. Make yourselves comfortable, Raven, Star, Aqualad, I have a feeling this could take a while.? He glared at Robin. ?Out with it, assassin.?

Robin took a deep breath. ?How much do you want to know??

?Everything. From the beginning right up to this moment. How you escaped slavery (if you?re the real Tim Drake), your connection to Bruce Wayne, and who sent you after Star. Every last bit. The longer you talk, the longer you live.?

Even in his present condition, Robin was impressed with how much Cyborg already knew of him. ?I was sold into slavery by my father, who had a problem with gambling and too many debts to pay. He sold me to a company that... raised slaves, if you will. Since most of this is irrelevant information, which will just take up your precious time, I?ll summarize. They trained me to do whatever my master wanted and then sold me. I exchanged hands a few times before I ran away from my master.

?That was when I was six. I escaped because of what he wanted me to do and as for how, a thief friend of mine smuggled me out and I stayed with him for a while, thieving, picking-pockets, burglaring, anything I could do to stay alive. That?s how I met Bruce Wayne. He caught me trying to break into his house. He took me in and taught me everything I know. How to read, write, fight, heal wounds, and? Robin took a deep breath ?the ways of an assassin.

?Then, a few years ago, I started working on my own and became the best there was. I managed to keep my identity secret so I could go where I wanted to without being arrested. It wasn?t the best job in the world, but there wasn?t much else I could do. You don?t have a choice when you?re like me. There aren?t many jobs that?ll take an escaped slave other than the black market. Most jobs do a background check too, so lying doesn?t work.

?A month or so ago, I got a call. I met with the man who had called me and he said he?d pay me to take out the queen of a neighboring planet. That queen was Starfire. The man who hired me was named Slade. He?s the king of a nearby planet and I?d bet he wants to take control of this one as soon as the Queen was gone. He?s already got control of other planets, either directly or by controlling whoever is ruling.

?I came here and you had the bodyguard tryouts. It was a perfect opportunity and I couldn?t pass it up. I was expecting to have to pose as a servant and finally get close to the Queen, but that would have taken months. That?s when I met Cyborg. I passed the first test and then I was taken to a mage. A Master Silvereye, I believe. I bypassed his Truth-spell using a magical powder I had taken earlier that day. I used my real name because the powder isn?t as reliable as I?d like and it?s best to lie as little as possible. That?s how I became one of the Queen?s new bodyguards.? Robin stopped talking. This was both harder and easier than he had thought. It was hard to speak about his past when he hadn?t in years and, yet, it felt strangely refreshing.

?Keep going. You?ve still got to tell a lot more,? Cyborg growled.

Robin decided to skip over the past two weeks and start with that evening. ?I had planned to kill St-the Queen a week ago, but I kept putting it off. Then, tonight, when I was going to get it over with, I ? I just couldn?t. I saw that Starfire and I are a lot alike.? Cyborg started to say something but Raven held him back. ?Neither of us really wants the job we have, but we don?t have much of a choice. We do it because we have to. I started to feel connected to her because I understood what she was going through, unlike so many other people.

?But like I said, I don?t get a choice in this. Earlier today, I slipped something into the Queen?s drink. No one saw me and it has no taste.?

Aqualad (he doesn?t have any lines, so let?s give him one) interrupted him. ?If you gave Starfire something, and I assume that this something is poison, in her drink, then why isn?t her taster dead? For that matter why isn?t she??

?Because I only gave her half of the poison. The other half is in that.? he nodded to the spilled tea. ?The taster wouldn?t have been affected by only half of the poison. Also I could have given her a slow acting poison, or one specifically directed toward her. The taste testers wouldn?t have noticed a thing or it would have been to late to do anything. You really have a lot to learn about assassins.? Robin shook his head.

?Then perhaps you could teach us.? All of them looked at Starfire in surprise, Cyborg?s mouth dropped to the floor. She shrugged. ?If Tim still wanted to kill me, he wouldn?t have knocked the tea out of my hands. And he is right; there is much we need to know if we are to successfully prevent assassin?s from getting as close as he did this time.?

?ARE YOU CRAZY!?! HE TRIED TO KILL YOU AND YOU WANT TO LET HIM STAY!?! HOW DO WE KNOW HE WON?T TRY IT AGAIN!?!? Cyborg shouted.

?I agree with Starfire,? came Raven?s monotone. Cyborg stared at her for a moment before shouting again.

?YOU?RE BOTH CRAZY!! HE. IS. AN. A-SSASS-IN.? Cyborg spoke slowly as if addressing a three year old.

?I?m aware of that, Cyborg, and I still think that Star is right. If he still wanted to kill her, she?d be dead by now. And he does have a lot that he can teach us. Besides, I would know if he was lying and he isn?t. All he is feeling right now is resignation, not hatred, or a need for vengeance. He will not hurt her, I?ll make sure he doesn?t.? Raven looked significantly at Robin. He nodded, understanding what she meant. If he misbehaved, he was as good as dead.

Cyborg rolled his eyes and addressed the ceiling. ?Am I the only sane one here?? The ceiling did not deign to reply and Cyborg looked back down at Robin. ?If you harm one _hair_ on Star?s head or try to run away, I will hunt you down and kill you slowly and painfully. Got it??

Robin looked straight into Cyborg?s eyes, both human and robotic. ?Yes.? Then he switched his gaze to Raven. ?Think you could let me up? This isn?t a very uncomfortable position.? Raven released her magic and Robin stood up. He walked over to Starfire, noticing the others tensing as he did. She didn?t, which raised his hope, an emotion he had thought had been burned out of him years ago. ?Why let me live? With just a wave of your hand, you could have sent me to hell, but you didn?t. Yes, I can teach you many things about assassins, and yes, I will not harm you, but you had no way of knowing that and there are others that could prepare you for any future assassination attempts. Do you mean to let me live for now and then kill me later after I have taught you all I know? Or are you going to throw me in the dungeons until I waste away? Or, perhaps, you hope to play with me until I break under the pain? Or??

?Stop it! You speak lies!? Starfire shouted. Cyborg, Aqualad, and even Raven looked homicidal. Robin relaxed slightly. He hadn?t wanted to do that, but he had to know. ?I did not do it because of any of your reasons! I did it...I did it because I-I feel for you...I have feelings for you that I do not understand,? Star?s voice was quieter now. ?But I do know that I do not want you to die and that I could not order your death no matter how mean and evil you were.?

?Thank you. I don?t deserve it but thank you. I am sorry for what I said to you just now but I had to know.?

?Know? What do you know?? Star asked. Robin focus was only on her at the moment.

?If you....lo-had feelings for me too.? Try as he might, it was hard for Robin to say the ?L word.?

?Yes, I?_too?_ You have feelings for me too?! Is...Is it love??

Now that The Word had been said, Robin could verbalize it as well. ?Yes, Star, I love you.? After a moment?s hesitation, Robin stepped forward and enveloped her in a kiss. Star?s eyes widened and then closed in happiness. Robin gently broke away after a minute more. Star opened her eyes slowly, savoring the kiss. They stared at each other for a while before Robin whispered to her, ?I love you, Starfire.?

The two broke away blushing when Raven inserted an artfully placed clearing of the throat. Cyborg was standing there smoldering furiously, glaring at Robin (A/N: No, this is not a Cyborg/Star, Cy views Star as like his little sister and is protective of her).

?You never could do anything the conventional way, could you?? Raven asked dryly. ?Half of your Court will have a heart attack and the other half will think you?re joking about getting married to your previous bodyguard.? Star?s and Robin?s faces turned an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible.

Star sneaked a glance at Robin and he met her eyes and winked, reaching for her hand to give a reassuring squeeze. Things would work out just fine, he was sure.

Except for one thing. Slade. He wouldn?t be happy his assassin hadn?t done his job and he?d be wanting revenge. _Deal with one thing at a time, Robin, one thing at a time._

Note to self: Learn to write romance. IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, sorry if my italics don?t show. I type in italics but sometimes they don?t work because IS EVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLL

Sorry about not updating. I just started school and its really hard this year. and yes, I know that that's not a valid excuse.


	9. Chapter 8

A/n: Sorry for the delay! School's been tough lately. But here we are! I loved the episode where Cyborg gets to pretend he's human! Poor Cyborg, he wants to be human so bad… hugs Oh, and Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo are all late teens. And this chapter's gonna seem REALLY un-fantasy like but, remember, it's a fantasy AND sci-fi kind of thing. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to have Cyborg join us. OR Gizmo. OR our computers. OR our cell phones. OR our spaceships. OR--is whacked over the head All right! I'll stop now!

Chapter 8

Slade slammed his fist into the table, breaking his teacup. Robin had failed him. For some reason he hadn't killed that child-Queen Starfire and was now, of all things, her _friend_. He had even ratted out on who had hired him, not that it mattered that much. Slade sneered at that. He'd get rid of Starfire and get Robin back as his apprentice. Once King Slade had decided on something, it happened. He would just have to try a more direct means of killing the Queen. Robin probably didn't even know Slade knew what had happened, so he had plenty of time to act.

Cyborg looked up when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called. The door opened to reveal Robin. "What do you want?" Cyborg growled, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I need to talk to you. Star's still in trouble."

"Really? Did you change your mind and decide to kill her?"

"Stop it, Cyborg. This is serious." Raven rose out of the floorboards.

Robin looked startled at her sudden entrance, but he recovered quickly. "Nice trick." Then he turned back to Cyborg. "Slade isn't going to be happy when he hears I failed and I doubt he'll give up. You don't hire the most expensive assassin out there just to give up after one try."

"So what are you saying we do? Locking Starfire up will hardly work, and Slade could already have an assassin here in case you failed," Raven pointed out.

"We need to get rid of Slade. Without him, an assassin won't get paid, so there's no reason to finish the job and risk getting killed."

"So you're suggesting we take out the king of another planet? Some how I doubt that's going to work," Cyborg said sarcastically.

"It will. If you can get me in there, I can kill him. I might need help to get past his guards though…" Robin seemed to speaking more to himself than to the other two. "I could call in those three, if they're not on another job, and they do owe me. Alright," he said appearing to make up his mind. "I'll need to make a call, excuse me." He left the room.

Cyborg and Raven looked at each other. "Are you as clueless as I am, Rae?" Cyborg asked.

"I certainly don't know what's going on."

Robin held the phone up to his ear (of course they had phones in the Middle Ages/Renaissance, didn't you know that?) and waited for it to stop ringing. The answering machine clicked. "Hey—SHUT UP YOU TWO!! Hey, you've reached us, leave a message." A female voice said before a beep.

"Hey, you three, it's Robin. I could use your help, call me when—"

A voice cut him off. "Hey Robin, how's it going?"

"Hey, Jinx. Listen, I need a favor, but there's no money involved. I need to eliminate someone but I have to get to him first. Can you, Mammoth, and Gizmo take care of his guards?"

"I suppose I should check with the guys so they don't feel left out, but we'll do it. Where are we meeting? I suppose you'll tell us who when we met."

"Planet (…I forgot what it was called………) at the salle at the Queens' palace. You shouldn't have any trouble getting in. How soon can you get here?"

"Hmm…the palace, huh? Tomorrow around noon if we leave right now. It'll probably end up being about five. If we're running late, I'll call you. See you then."

Robin smirked as he hung up his phone. Slade soon wouldn't be a problem for anyone ever again.

Jinx hung up their phone and turned to go find her two friends. "Mammoth! Gizmo! Where are you?!" Mammoth stuck his head out from the kitchen, mouth full of food. Gizmo called "what?!" from his workroom.

"We're leaving to help Robin out with a job of his in one hour. Pack what you need!"

"Don't we get a say in this?!" Gizmo shouted while Mammoth just swallowed and shrugged. He didn't care, so long as he got to fight.

"No, so hurry it up!" Gizmo grumbled something that Jinx ignored.

The next day around five in the afternoon…

"When are they gonna be here?" Cyborg asked for the fifteenth time. "And you ever gonna tell us who 'they' are?"

"You'll find out when they get here which should be any minute," Robin replied, not moving from where he was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest.

"Calm down, Cyborg, they'll be here eventually," Raven said quietly from where she was meditating.

A few minutes passed before "When are they gonna be here?"

A few more minutes passed before "When are they gonna be here?"

"Cyborg…" Raven growled. Cyborg was quiet for about ten minutes. Then, "when are they coming?" Raven was looking murderous when, luckily, they heard, "Hello? Robin! You here?"

"In here Jinx!" he called. The door opened to reveal a girl with purple-pink hair and outfit, a giant of a man who looked as though he was all brawn and little brain, and a short boy dressed _very_ geekily. Robin moved to greet the three as Cyborg and Raven inspected them.

"Jinx, Mammoth, Gizmo, it's good to see you again. Been having fun? Any good jobs recently?"

Robin was answered with various replies.

"Hi, Robin. Great to see you, too. It's been pretty fun."

"Hey. Good. Jinx wouldn't let me finish eating so you better have somethin' that I can eat. I'm hungry."

"Hiya, Bird-brain! It's been loads of fun lately! Just got an order for explosives, that I'm puttin' on hold."

"Yeah, what's this job you have?" Jinx asked. Then she spotted Cyborg and Raven. "Ooh, never mind that! Who's your friend?" She darted over to Cyborg and grabbed his arm. "Hi! I'm Jinx! Aren't you cute?" Cyborg's eyes widened and his face turned light pink. Gizmo started fuming but Jinx didn't notice.

"That's Cyborg and this is Raven. And about the job, we'll be going after King Slade of Xanos. I'll need—"

"WHAT?!?!?! Are you INSANE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! You're gonna take out _Slade_?!" Gizmo shouted.

"What's the big deal with Slade?" Cyborg asked. "I'm sure you've gone after rulers before."

"Well, duh, we have. It's just that Slade has the best state-of-the-art security system _and_ a gazillion guards _and_ is a kick-ass martial artist at that! That's the big deal."

"I know that. And I know we can take him down, but I'm going to need your help. Are you still willing to lend a hand?" Robin asked, unfazed.

"Of course we are," Jinx answered. "We still _do_ owe you from… last time." She glanced at Raven before she avoided saying exactly what "last time" had been.

"Great. Now here's what I need you to do."

A sleek state-of-the-art spaceship landed in the forest outside of the walls of the capital city of Xanos. The door opened and six figures dressed in black stepped out. Raven and Cyborg had insisted on coming and Robin had let them rather than waste more time arguing. The group ran through the forest before they came to the wall. At the top, they could see guards patrolling, or, rather, playing dice.

"Raven," Robin whispered, having just thought of something. "Can you get us through to the other side? I know you can teleport with your powers, but can you take all of us and for how far? Maybe, the castle?"

"I can take all of you for a short distance or a few of you for longer, but getting into Slade's castle is not an option. He'll probably have alarms that can detect my magic. Also, there's no way to tell if there would be someone to spot us. However…" she trailed off. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, they blazed white. "I can take you to the back of an alley that is a block away from the castle walls. No one is there."

"Do it." Darkness enveloped the group, transporting them into the city. When complete darkness peeled back, the dimly lit alley way surrounded them.

"The castle is that way," Raven said, pointing to the right and down the alley.

"Then let's get going!" Jinx said, starting to leap up the wall of the building next to them. The others followed. Robin leaped up much as Jinx did, Mammoth and Cyborg climbed up, Gizmo's backpack sprouted legs that propelled him up the wall, and Raven simply levitated. Once they were all assembled on the flat roof, Robin turned to Gizmo and Cyborg.

"Can you jam the security system?" he asked quietly.

"Well, duh! Of course I can, Bird-brain!" Gizmo exclaimed before Jinx glared at him to be quiet. He did, but muttered under his breath.

Cyborg scanned the security system and looked at the results. "Yeah, there's a master fuse box under ground that can knock out all of it, or if less will do, I can shut down the system in certain areas. I can localize the power and shut it off. Shouldn't be too hard, but I need to get closer for any small-scale work."

"Alright. Cyborg, I want you to knock out the power in three different areas, two east, and one west, two guardhouses at each area. That way we can distract them." Cyborg started punching buttons on his arm and nodded to Robin once he had finished. "Good," Robin continued. "Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth. I need you three to deal with Slade's guards once we get inside the castle. Cyborg and Raven, you're with me. I'm going after Slade and if we run into trouble, I'll need you. Now let's move."

The group headed towards the western most area of darkness. Once inside the walls, they encountered robot guards scattered all over the place. The six teens flung themselves into the fight, smashing through the guards.

"Raven, can you locate Slade?" he asked, amidst the fighting. Raven closed her eyes briefly before they blazed open with white light.

"Second floor, south wing, last hallway on the left coming from this direction." Raven answered. Robin nodded and he, Raven, and Cyborg vaulted into a second story window, leaving Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo behind to keep fighting. Raven led the way through the maze of the castle.

Eventually they came to the part of the castle that Raven had said Slade was in. The three skidded to a halt when they saw the rows of guards standing in front of two open doors, apparently waiting for them. The robots launched themselves at the teens, who immediately started fighting back.

"Slade's in the next room," Raven called out, black power smashing one of the guards into the wall. "Go ahead, Robin, we can take care of these." Robin nodded and flipped over the robot in front of him, landed one another's face, used it to push off of, and made it through the doors just as they closed behind him.

The room was dark; the only light an eerie orange glow that did little to illuminate his surroundings. Robin tensed, staring into the darkness for any sign of his former employer. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. He could see nothing but large dark shapes that were distinguishable from each other only by their size. Suddenly a bright light clicked on in front of him. Robin drew back from the sudden brightness which blinded him. He squinted into the light and saw a lone figure sitting in a chair.

"Welcome, Robin," the man said and stood up. Robin's eyes narrowed when he saw who the person was.

"Slade."

I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY THAT I TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS OUT!!!! BUT SCHOOL HAS BEEN WORKING ME SO HARD AND I HAVEN'T HAD BARELY A MINUTE OF FREETIME SINCE SUMMER!!!! SORRY!


End file.
